A Peek Into My Workout Routine

Hi Lovely,

So, I've recently been getting a lot of emails, tweets, and messages asking me about my *exercise routine* or how I keep my body fit, healthy, and feminine.

Since I just finished my Thursday workout, showered, and am treating myself to a cup of tea in front of the computer, I thought that it might be the perfect chance to publicly answer all of my readers asking, "What does Nina do to stay fit? and perhaps to inspire you a bit.

After all, as feminine women our nurturing qualities cause us to be incredibly generous and put our families before ourselves, yet it's so important to prioritize our own health and fitness.

Your body, sleeping pattern, energy level, and general sense of well-being will thank you, I promise! *smile*

Firstly, to answer the question about what I do to stay fit and healthy, paired with healthy eating, I also do a mix of both cardio and low-impact strength straining, and I make sure to move my body every single day (unless I'm seriously ill).

On Sundays I make it my relaxing exercise day, where I'll go on long but leisurely walks, do an hour of light and relaxing yoga, or play on the playground with my niece or nephew (squee!). *smile*

I do this because I live a very physically active lifestyle. My love is very active and takes me swimming in lakes, on hikes, rock climbing, and long distance jogging. 

I also am fortunate enough to be able to travel often (lots of walking while touring and moving through airports!) and I also live in a big city that requires a lot of walking up and down the stairs to the subway and carrying heavy bags of groceries 6 blocks home and then up flights of stairs!

Already being so active without allotted time for exercise and a *creature of movement*, not to mention my preferred methods of strength training being intense and taxing, it's important that I have a day where I take slow leisurely walks in the park and get the time to allow my muscles to repair and rest. *smile*

Mondays through Saturdays, though, I'll find myself going through my routine of cardio and strength training.

For cardio I prefer jogging, cycling, and jumping rope. I make sure to do at least 30 minutes of fast paced cardio each day. My preference is jumping rope because it's the most challenging to me and really gets the heart rate up and sweats you out! ;-) 

Not to mention the fact that it burns an average of 11 calories per minute, meaning that it burns more than 300 calories in just a half hour!

Jumping rope is my go to and I'll usually choose jogging or cycling outside when it's nice weather so that I can get some sun and fresh air at the same time, not to mention seeing the sights. :-) 

It's also nice to change once in a while, especially considering the fact that jumping rope too often can hurt your ankles -- goodness, did I find that out the hard way! ;-)

I like to start out with my 30 minutes of cardio before settling down to do my strength training (it's important to note, though, that some times when I jog, I carry little weights with me to tone my arms up at the same time). 

For strength training, I am a huge fan of the Ballet Beautiful Classic 60-Minute Workout by Mary Helen Bowers because it creates a long, lean and *feminine* toned body shape instead of bulking me up. I will do the entire Ballet Beautiful workout 3 times a week, split up into parts so that I'm concentrating on only one to three body parts each day.

I will also alternate with the Ballet Beautiful Blast Series by Mary Helen Bowers, where I'll choose one of the blasts each day. I'm a big fan of the Swan Arms Exercise.

I also enjoy resistance bands, glider exercises, and exercises with ankle weights.

This is the ankle weight exercise I do that's meant to tone the butt:  



I know it looks really challenging and it's definitely effective and can be challenging for those who aren't familiar with exercising, but I really started to enjoy it once I got the hang of it. Along with the Ballet Beautiful bridge exercises (included in the Classic 60-Minute workout DVD), these really help to get a firm, toned, and raised butt. *smile*

I hope that you enjoyed this little peek into my exercise routine, lovely. May it inspire you to put your health and fitness as a priority!

Do you want to become a *total woman*? Sign up for my Feminine Darling Membership Program. xo

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